This name came from the herb moss pink, or wild ground phlox, which is one of the earliest widespread flowers of the spring. Other names for this month’s celestial body include the Full Sprouting Grass Moon, the Full Fish Moon, and among coastal tribes the Full Fish Moon, because this was the time that the shad swam upstream to spawn.

Tides

High:10:30am/11:05pm

Low:4:22am/4:40pm

Rainfall

This Year:7.40

Last Year:18.34

Normal To Date18.01:

Annual Average: 22.28

Holidays

Girls Write Now Day

Organize Your Home Office Day

Unique Names Day

Farmers Day

National Agriculture Day

National Peanut Cluster Day

Nametag Day

National Proofreading Day

Paczki Day(Polish celebration of Fat Tuesday, or Shrove Tuesday, the last chance to indulge before the fasting days of Lent.)

International Women's Day

UN Day for Women's Rights and International Peace

International Pancake Day

Bursting Day-Iceland

International Women's Day-Russia

Decoration Day-Liberia

Mother’s Day-Bulgaria

Revolution Day-Syria

Women's Day- Bosnia-Herzegovina

World Kidney Day

On This Day In …

1618 --- Johann Kepler discovered the third Law of Planetary Motion.

1894 --- A dog license law was enacted in the state of New York. This was the first such animal control law in the U.S. It cost dog owners a $2 annual fee per pooch in cities with a population over 1,200,000. (People population, incidentally, not dog population.)

1917 --- In Russia, the February Revolution (known as such because of Russia's use of the Julian calendar) begins when riots and strikes over the scarcity of food erupt in Petrograd. One week later, centuries of czarist rule in Russia ended with the abdication of Nicholas II, and Russia took a dramatic step closer toward communist revolution. Demonstrators clamoring for bread took to the streets in the Russian capital of Petrograd (now known as St. Petersburg). Supported by 90,000 men and women on strike, the protesters clashed with police but refused to leave the streets. On March 10, the strike spread among all of Petrograd's workers, and irate mobs of workers destroyed police stations. Several factories elected deputies to the Petrograd Soviet, or "council," of workers' committees, following the model devised during the Revolution of 1905. The imperial government was forced to resign, and the Duma formed a provisional government that peacefully vied with the Petrograd Soviet for control of the revolution. On March 14, the Petrograd Soviet issued "Order No. 1," which instructed Russian soldiers and sailors to obey only those orders that did not conflict with the directives of the Soviet. The next day, March 15, Czar Nicholas II abdicated the throne in favor of his brother Michael, whose refusal of the crown brought an end to the czarist autocracy.

1923 --- The Coca Cola 6 bottle carton was introduced.

1950 --- Volkswagen, maker of the Beetle automobile, expands its product offerings to include a microbus, which goes into production. Known officially as the Volkswagen Type 2 (the Beetle was the Type 1) or the Transporter, the bus was a favorite mode of transportation for hippies in the U.S. during the 1960s and became an icon of the American counterculture movement. The VW bus was reportedly the brainchild of Dutch businessman Ben Pon, an importer of Beetles to the Netherlands, who saw a market for a small bus and in 1947 sketched out his concept. Volkswagen engineers further developed the idea and in March 1950, the vehicle, with its boxy, utilitarian shape and rear engine, went into production. The bus eventually collected a number of nicknames, including the "Combi" (for combined-use vehicle) and the "Splittie" (for its split windshield); in Germany it was known as the "Bulli." In the U.S., it was referred to by some as a hippie van or bus because it was used to transport groups of young people and their camping gear and other supplies to concerts and anti-war rallies. Some owners painted colorful murals on their buses and replaced the VW logo on the front with a peace symbol. According to "Bug" by Phil Patton, when The Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia died in 1995, Volkswagen ran an ad featuring a drawing of the front of a bus with a tear streaming down it.

1962 --- The Beatles performed for the first time on the BBC in Great Britain. John, Paul, George and ... Pete Best. He played the drums as Ringo hadn’t joined up yet. Paul McCartney sang Dream Baby on the show, Teenager’s Turn on ‘Auntie Beeb’ (as the BBC was known).

1968 --- Rock show promoter and impresario, Bill Graham of San Francisco, moved to the other side of the U.S. to open Fillmore East in New York City.

1969 --- Sly and the Family Stone were starting their fourth (and final) week at number one on the pop music charts (also #1 on the soul charts) with Everyday People. When presented with the coveted gold record for this achievement, Sly ripped it out of its case, threw it on the platter player and heard, People, by Barbra Streisand.

1971 --- Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier meet for the "Fight of the Century" at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The bout marked Ali’s return to the marquee three-and-a-half years after boxing commissions revoked his license over his refusal to fight in the Vietnam War. It was also Ali’s first chance to win back the heavyweight championship, which had been stripped by the WBA (World Boxing Association). On the night of the fight, celebrities filled Madison Square Garden. Miles Davis was resplendent in a red suit. Frank Sinatra sat ringside, photographing the fight for a Life magazine article. It was said that billions of people were following the fight in person, on TV or on the radio, and most of them were cheering for Ali. The fight lived up to the hype. Ali initially landed more punches, gliding about the ring as light on his feet as he was in the prime of his career. Frazier’s punches, however, seemed to have more impact. By the eighth round, Frazier was leading six rounds to two with each judge. In the 11th round, Ali staggered but fought back, forcing the action into the 12th and 13th rounds. The fight was already decided by the 15th, when Frazier landed a left hook to Ali’s right chin, knocking down the champ for the first time in his pro career. Ali got up, but Frazier won the fight by unanimous decision, retaining his title and delivering Ali the first loss of his career.

1973 --- Paul McCartney pled guilty to charges of growing marijuana outside of his Scottish countryside farm. He claimed that a fan had given him the seeds and that he did not know what they would grow. He was fined $240.

1993 --- "Beavis and Butthead" made their series debut on MTV. Earlier they had appeared on the MTV program Liquid Television.